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One of the major reasons of our inability to cope with stress or to
reduce it from our lives in first place, is our failure to understand
stress. Stress your mind and try defining stress you shall know that
what you are talking about are the symptoms or the cause and not what
stress actually is.

A more recent definition according to another dictionary is –
stress is a specific response by the body to a stimulus, as fear or
pain, that disturbs or interferes with the normal physiological
equilibrium of an organism.

The word 'stress' is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as "a state of
affair involving demand on physical or mental energy". A condition or
circumstance (not always adverse), which can disturb the normal
physical and mental health of an individual.

In medical parlance 'stress' is defined as a perturbation of the
body's homeostasis. This demand on mind-body occurs when it tries to
cope with incessant changes in life. A 'stress' condition seems
'relative' in nature. Extreme stress conditions, psychologists say, are
detrimental to human health but in moderation stress is normal and, in
many cases, proves useful. Stress, nonetheless, is synonymous with
negative conditions. Today, with the rapid diversification of human
activity, we come face to face with numerous causes of stress and the
symptoms of stress and depression.

Stress is a problem of adjustment which may be defined as “the
outcome of the individual’s efforts to deal with stress and meet
his needs as well as environmental demands.” Personal adjustment
is a process of continuous interaction between the individual and his
environment in which the individual either adopts to the environment or
alters it.

Stress is any accommodative demand that requires coping behaviour on the part of an individual or group.

Let us try to understand the types of Stress, it’s severity and some other key aspects, in simpler terms.

TYPES OF STRESS :

Frustration - It is the experience caused when an individual is obstructed from pursuing his goal.

Conflict - The state of confusion, wherein one has to choose between two alternatives. Till the selection isn’t done the state of conflict prevails.

Pressure - A situation that makes your
journey more complicated or adds on more demands that you are expected
to meet, during the process of your adjustment.

Frustrations - Can be personal or environmental:

Delays

Lack of Resources

Losses

Failures

Meaninglessness

Conflicts - Can be Positive and rewarding or Negative and have punishment factor:

Self Direction Vs Outer Direction

Commitment Vs Non-Environment

Avoidance Vs Facing Reality

Integrity Vs Self-Advantage

Sexual Desires Vs Restrictions

Pressures - Can be Internal or External:

Pressure of Competitive Achievement

Sustained Concentration of Efforts

Complexity and Rapid Change

Pressure from Family & Other Relationships

The extent of strain or dis-equilibrium that an individual
experiences due to stress is called the severity of stress. The
severity ranges from mild, moderate, severe to excessive.

In a challenging situation the brain prepares the body for defensive
action—the fight or flight response by releasing stress hormones,
namely, cortisone and adrenaline. These hormones raise the blood
pressure and the body prepares to react to the situation. With a
concrete defensive action (fight response) the stress hormones in the
blood get used up, entailing reduced stress effects and symptoms of
anxiety.

When we fail to counter a stress situation (flight response) the
hormones and chemicals remain unreleased in the blood stream for a long
period of time. It results in stress related physical symptoms such as
tense muscles, unfocused anxiety, dizziness and rapid heartbeats. We
all encounter various stressors (causes of stress) in everyday life,
which can accumulate, if not released. Subsequently, it compels the
mind and body to be in an almost constant alarm-state in preparation to
fight or flee. This state of accumulated stress can increase the risk
of both acute and chronic psychosomatic illnesses and weaken the immune
system of the human body.

Stress can cause headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, eating
disorder, allergies, insomnia, backaches, frequent cold and fatigue to
diseases such as hypertension, asthma, diabetes, heart ailments and
even cancer. Psychologists, says that 70 per cent to 80 per cent of
adults visit physicians for problems that are stress-related. Scary
enough. But where are we going wrong?

Just about everybody—men, women, children and even
fetuses—suffer from stress. Relationship demands, chronic health
problems, pressure at workplaces, traffic snarls, meeting deadlines,
growing-up tensions or a sudden bearish trend in the bourse can trigger
stress conditions. People react to it in their own ways. In some
people, stress-induced adverse feelings and anxieties tend to persist
and intensify. Learning to understand and manage stress can prevent the
counter effects of stress.

Methods of coping with stress are aplenty. The most significant or
sensible way out is a change in lifestyle. Relaxation techniques such
as meditation, physical exercises, listening to soothing music, deep
breathing, various natural and alternative methods, personal growth
techniques, visualization and massage are some of the most effective of
the known non-invasive stress busters.